Fire and Smoke
by ariese14
Summary: The more you hide your feelings from someone, the more you start to fall for them, especially when your hair is like fire and his hair is like smoke. Told from the POVs of mainly Lily and James, read about the seventh year of the Head Girl and Boy and how they came to be, as well as the lives of their best friends. M for language and adult themes.
1. Before the Story

**DISCLAIMER: I am not J.K. Rowling and anything I write in this story is not mine (except characters that I make up and plot lines that I create and things I say that J.K. Rowling did not. But the whole idea behind this is hers).**

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**A/N: **Hello! This is a new story about Lily Evans and James Potter as well as their friends in troubled times (A.K.A. their last year at Hogwarts) (oh, yeah, and the fact that there's a war going on). It's rated M for language mostly. I don't do smut, so if you're here for that, leave. I do adore fluff, so there's that. But that does _not _mean some characters don't _do things, _if you know what I mean. *wink* This story is strictly seventh year ONLY. Nothing will be about after school and their time in the Order of the Phoenix and et cetera. Although I _do_ mention the Order in my story, it just doesn't revolve around it. Also, the main narrator will be Lily and James, Sirius, Marlene McKinnon, and other people will narrate at times.

Now, a lot of people in fan fiction believe that Sirius Black was a hyper maniac, that James Potter asked Lily out _all the time _and was a flirtatious sex god, that Marlene McKinnon is _exactly _like Sirius, and that Lily was a timid, know-it-all who could not have fun. Let me clear some things up:

_[Sirius] was very good-looking._

While the Marauders are being described, Sirius is the only one who is noted as "good-looking"; James is offered no such adjectives. It might be argued that since the third-person narration is still technically Harry's narration, so he might not be inclined to describe his father as such… Well, why would he describe Sirius that way, then? I guess we could get into some age-inappropriate slash fic here, but something tells me that's not what JKR intended.

Point? A lot of people seem to think that James Potter is like the Idris Elba of Marauders Era Hogwarts; in other words, bammin' slammin' bootylicious kind of hot. I'm not suggesting that James isn't a good-lookin' guy; I just happen to think he's more average, and certainly not conventionally sexy, and it's just not likely that he's the must-have teen bachelor.

This is, however, much more apparent when it comes to his behavior. Let's continue.

_He had drawn a Snitch and was now tracing the letters L.E._

This is adorable and one of my favorite parts, but are you kidding me? A fifteen-year-old boy _doodling his crush's initials _translates to slick man-whore? What? What universe are you guys living in? What.

_Harry noticed his father had a habit of rumpling up his hair as though to make sure it did not get too tidy, and also that he kept looking over at the girls by the water's edge._

Is it just me, or does Harry seem a little exasperated here? Like, "Come on, Dad, get your self together."

Anyway, James is often written as this indifferent, cool cat who dgaf and shows it, but here we see him obsessively glancing over at Lily. Maybe to make sure she's still there, to see if he's caught her attention at all, or maybe it's just because she's pretty, I don't know, but I highly doubt that James Potter ever manages that calm-and-collected thing.

_James and Sirius advanced on him, wands up, James glancing over at the girls at the water's edge as he went._

James, pls, stop staring at Lily and just talk to her like a normal person, god damn.

_"__Leave him ALONE!"_ _James and Sirius looked around. James's free hand jumped to his hair again._ _"__All right, Evans?" said James, and the tone of his voice was suddenly pleasant, deeper, more mature._

This is your smooth operator, you guys. An initial-doodling, nervous-habit-hair-ruffling, _altering-his-voice-to-sound-sexy-in-front-of-the-girl-he-likes_ nerdbomb. I cannot get over the voice-altering. He deliberately changes his tone in an attempt to make Lily's lady parts tingle. Not exactly a pick-up artist, is he?

_"__Leave him alone," Lily repeated. She was looking at James with every sign of great dislike._

He _is _terrorizing her best friend; he's earned that expression of great dislike. Snape is her friend, and James is probably little more than a House mate at the time, so naturally Lily isn't going to be warm towards him. She's yelling at him now for being a dick; that doesn't mean she yells at him all the time for no reason.

_"__You think you're funny," she said coldly. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him _alone_."_

I like "toerag" as much as the next person, but c'mon, guys, try not to use this one more than, I don't know, like twice in your fics. Slughorn said Lily was clever; clever girls have more than one insult in their repertoire.

_"__I will if you go out with me, Evans," said James quickly. "Go on… Go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."_

ARE YOU KIDDING ME

You guys, James very publicly and stupidly propositions Lily, and you actually think other girls are clamoring to get a piece of that? I can guarantee that it's less "I need to tap that" and more "Why would anyone bother, honestly?" He _obviously_ has a Lily thing; that's not something anyone's going to compete against because that would be goddamn ridiculous.

_"__I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid."_

I feel like this one's lost its charm in all the times it's been quoted, but try to think back on how you felt the first time you read it because it's HILARIOUS. This girl is a stone-cold ego killa.

_Lily, whose furious expression had twitched for an instant as though she was going to smile, said, "Let him down!"_

Despite how angry Lily is and how much she's trying to defend her friend, she very nearly cracks a smile at his expense. And yet I so often see interpretations of an all-work-and-no-play Lily, like she's got no sense of humor? The only reason she stifles the smile now is because she's trying to impress upon James the fact that he's being a douchecanoe. She doesn't lack a sense of humor; she just has priorities.

_"__LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily shouted. She had her own wand out now. James and Sirius eyed it warily._

James and Sirius are clearly aware of Lily's abilities, and they don't mess around with her. They're top of the class (as stated by McGonagall, I think?), and they're actually _scared_ of Lily when she pulls her wand on them, which leads me to believe that she's pulled her wand on them before, and she's rocked the house with it.

_"__Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you," said James earnestly._

This is flirtatious James. That's it. That's all he's got.

_"__Take the curse off him, then!"_ _James sighed deeply, then turned to Snape and muttered the countercurse._ _"__There you go," he said, as Snape struggled to his feet again, "you're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus –"_

"You're lucky Evans was here." Not "You're lucky there are a bunch of fit girls here." Evans. The only person for whom James would lay off Snape, even though she's already said she won't go out with him regardless. (Notice that James was willing to quit his fight with Snape for Lily's sake, even though she still doesn't want anything to do with him, but Snape's not willing to forgo the Dark Arts for the sake of his and Lily's friendship. Somebody get this guy a fedora, amirite?)

_"__I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"_ _Lily blinked. "Fine," she said coolly. "I won't bother in future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, _Snivellus_."_

Lily Evans has had it with your crap, and she's not afraid to let you know. I mean, come on, she's deliberately using "Snivellus" against him, mimicking James in an attempt to hurt Snape with words the way he's just done to her. This is not someone who will be walked all over, by anyone.

Be still my heart, I _love_ this broad.

_"__Apologize to Evans!" James roared at Snape, his wand pointed threateningly at him._ _"__I don't want _you _to make him apologize," Lily shouted, rounding on James. "You're as bad as he is…."_ _"__What?" yelped James. "I'd NEVER call you a – you-know-what!"_

Words cannot express how much I adore this exchange. While James is willing to stop a fight for Lily, he's willing to start one, too, but Lily doesn't need a hero. Even though James generally treats her well and with respect, he still pisses her off, so she's not going to pretend that she needs his help. Lily Evans takes NO PRISONERS.

James, meanwhile, with his "yelp[ing]" is appalled to realize that you don't have to use classist slurs to act like an asshole. (Look, I love James, I identify with him so much, on so many levels, but his douchebaggery here is just plain undeniable.)

_"__What is it with her?" said James, trying and failing to look as though this was a throwaway question of no real importance to him._

Read that line. Read it over and over again, until it's burned into your brain. Obviously James doesn't "get it," and it drives him crazy because he just wants to do whatever's going to make Lily happy, but he fails spectacularly, but BUT he continues to try in the best and probably only way he knows how, because he's fifteen and an idiot (but hey, he gets it eventually).

Look at this mofo. He's like a confused puppy. I'm sorry, there is no way that he'd ever chase after any other girl.

BONUS, Harry's conversation with Sirius and Remus about what he saw in the Pensieve:

[Harry] _"Well… I thought he was a bit of an idiot."_ [Sirius] _"Of course he was a bit of an idiot!"_

He was an idiot. Not level-headed, coolly indifferent, smooth-talkin' badass. He was a GD, no-hesitation idiot.

[Harry] _"And he kept looking over at the girls by the lake, hoping they were watching him!"_ [Sirius] _"Oh, well, he always made a fool of himself whenever Lily was around. He couldn't stop himself showing off whenever he got near her."_

Sirius takes Harry's "girls" and specifies it as "Lily": James doesn't care if "the girls by the lake" were watching him – he cares if _Lily_ is watching him. JKR's word choice here is of the utmost importance, and probably the most obvious evidence that James wasn't running around wearing a "Slag of the Year" sash or something.

Filed under: crap that probably doesn't matter all that much but I take very personally, anyway.

Now THAT was taken from tumblr, so I don't want to say it's mine.

More on Lily, Slughorn described her as being bright, vivacious, and charming. Bright means to be vibrant and intelligent. Vivacious means to be attractively lively and animated (now don't go thinking Slughorn was a perv). Charming means to be polite, friendly, and likable. J.K. chose those descriptive words for a _reason. _She did not randomly pick positive adjectives to describe Lily Evans. She chose specific ones. Now, I do think that Lily did get annoyed with the Marauders, seeing as how she acted at the lake, but that doesn't mean I think she hated them. She hated what they did, but not them themselves. She definitely got along with Remus, was probably kind to Peter, but James and Sirius most likely caused her to roll her eyes a lot. _But, _that does not mean they didn't cause her to laugh or whatever.

Taken from Harry Potter wiki: When in a temper, Lily had a sharp tongue, and had no trouble standing up to others. She had strong principles, ending her friendship with Snape when she could _no longer tolerate_ his fascination with the Dark Arts or his devotion to Voldemort's genocidal cause.

(also, with the whole Snape thing, don't think James bullied him all the time out of boredom. The event at the lake was the worst thing James and Sirius ever did to Snape, having it being Snape's worst memory. They probably just usually enlarged his nose even more or turned his greasy hair pink or caused him to stumble in the corridors. They weren't _bullies. _In _Order of the Phoenix, _Remus says, " . . . He [Snape] never lost an opportunity to curse James, so you couldn't really expect James to take that lying down, could you?" It wasn't one sided, people. Snape _cursed _James. James _hexed _Snape. There is a big difference between curse and hex)

Now I have some things to say about Sirius.

This is taken straight from Harry Potter Wiki: Although he later considered himself "an idiot" during this time, Sirius, along with James, was immensely popular: teachers respected his intelligence, though not his behavior, and girls adored his dark handsome looks, but his especially rebellious attitude made him ignore them, therefore making the girls fawn over his bad boy attitude. Many teachers regarded him and James as troublemakers or practical jokers; Hagrid once compared them to the mischievous twins Fred and George Weasley.

**_Sirius was not a man whore either who dated a billion girls and slept around like crazy._**

Sirius, in Order of the Phoenix, was described as "lounging in his chair as ease." During their O.W.L., "a girl was sitting behind him eyeing him hopefully, though he didn't seem to have noticed." Sirius was most likely one of those calm and cool hot guys that every girl liked, although he wasn't one for dating. He wasn't this hyper and crazy boy, either. Although, for me, it _is_ head cannon that he _was _the comic relief of the group, and him and James had the most sense of humor. _But, _I do _not _think that Remus was the "smartest." Both James and Sirius were intelligent, McGonagall saying so in Prisoner of Azkaban (I think). Also, "'Well, I thought that paper was a piece of cake,' . . . 'I'd be surprised if I don't get Outstanding on it at least.'" Those words came from Sirius Black after an O.W.L. James proceeded to say, "Me too." I fully believe that Remus was the _sensible_ one, as well as smart, but Sirius and James were naturally intelligent. They probably had a photographic memory or a knack for remembering things.

As for Marlene, we know _absolutely nothing about her. _The only thing we know is that she was in the original Order of the Phoenix and she, along with her family, was killed during the First Wizarding War.

Okay, I know that was a lot, but those are my views on the characters, and that's how I am going to try to write them. _So, _if you don't like any of what I just wrote, then you won't like this story (although, everything I have on the characters is taken directly from the books, so if you don't agree, then _you're _the one that's got it all wrong).

*proceed to next chapter to read chapter one*


	2. Back to Hogwarts

**Chapter One**

**Back to Hogwarts**

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Lily climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express, her brown trunk in one hand and her cat, Cleo, in the other. The train corridors were crowded with young witches and wizards, some hauling their luggage to compartments, others running around, saying hello to their friends. Lily ducked as a sparkling ball of light flew over her head. She gazed forward to try and see who had released it, but it was no use. The train was too crowded.

Lily pulled her trunk along and found the compartment she was looking for. Marlene McKinnon, her best friend, was sitting with Skye Bradley, a fellow Gryffindor who shared their dormitory. Marlene's golden blonde hair was pulled up into a modest ponytail—her usual style, whereas Skye's mocha colored curls were bouncing around her shoulders.

"Lily!" Marlene exclaimed, hopping up and embracing her best friend.

Skye hugged her next and scooted over for her to sit down, but Lily shook her head. "Oh, no, I'm just dropping off my things. I've got to head down to the prefect carriage and give instructions." She motioned towards the badge pinned on her chest.

"That's right!" Marlene hit her forehead with her hand. "You're Head Girl. Are you sure you can come back? I've missed you so much and I need to explain my summer in France in detail."

"I am leaving my stuff in here, aren't I?" Lily glanced out of the compartment's glass windows. "I'd better go. I'll see you guys in perhaps an hour or two?" Lily took her wand she kept in the waistband of her jeans and levitated her trunk to the top of the compartment where it fell against the luggage rack. She faced the girls and said, "Watch Cleo for me!"

The outside doors of the train shut tightly, and Lily felt the vibrations meaning the engine had turned on. Lily started walking towards the prefect carriage and swore under her breath as James Potter came her way.

For nearly six years, Lily believed to have hated James Potter with everything she had. He did, after all, hex her old best friend, Severus Snape, even though Lily repeatedly told him to stop. He did, after all, roam around the school pulling silly pranks with his three best friends, the lot of them calling themselves the Marauders. He did, after all, annoy Lily constantly, causing the two of them to fight and yell at each other. But only last year did he suddenly start to change. At first, Lily believed it to be a joke, but as the school year progressed, Lily realized that it would have been too hard to keep up with something like that. He wasn't perfect, nor would he ever be, but Lily realized that all those years, she did not hate him, she simply hated what he did.

But current James Potter still had kept some of his old traits.

Lily turned around and kept her head low, but it did no use. Her hair bled down her back, and she knew that it would give her away. She felt him behind her, and she reluctantly turned to face him. She gasped at their closeness and backed into the small space of wall between the two compartments behind her.

He smirked down at her. "Hey, Evans."

"Potter."

He did not do anything then, just gazed at her.

Lily cleared her throat. "I have to get to the prefect carriage," she told him.

"So?"

"_So_, move."

She tried to shove past him, but the train suddenly lurched forward, causing Lily to stumble. James fell with her, and suddenly they were both on the floor. Well, Lily was on the floor. James was on top of her. Her cheeks flushed immediately, and her chest moved up and down with every breath she took. James stayed on her, his gaze flicking from her eyes to her lips and then to her eyes again.

Lily, very aware of the intimacy between them, tried to push him off of her and stand. The only problem was, the train's corridors were quite small, and there was no way she was going to get up unless James did first. He toppled over to her left, but half of his body was still on top of her. He radiated warmth, yet she still felt chills running along her arms.

"Potter!" she groaned, trying to get him off.

At that very moment, two students popped their heads out of the nearest compartment. Unfortunately, it was two of the other Marauder's. Peter Pettigrew put a hand to his mouth. Sirius Black burst out laughing.

"Shut up, Sirius!" Lily hissed.

James eventually was able to stand up. He offered Lily a hand, but she refused it, crawling up off the ground and brushing her shirt, even though there was nothing really on it.

Once Sirius stopped laughing, he said, "Oh, Merlin! You two need to be a bit more discreet if you're going to do things like _that._ We heard Evans's moaning a little more than we would have liked."

Lily glared at him. "The twat was on top of me! Those _moans _were annoyance and frustration."

"Sexual frustration," Sirius snickered.

Lily leaned forward and started hitting him with both of her hands.

"Ow, ow! Evans—_Lily!" _

She stopped smacking Sirius and turned towards James. "And _you_. What the _hell _was that?"

He threw up his hands. "What? The train moved and we fell over."

"Yeah, but you grabbed me therefore causing you to fall on top of me!"

"I was trying to stop you from falling!"

"Right."

It was obvious he was trying to hide a smile, and Lily, annoyed, had to look away. His smiles were contagious. She decided to change the subject. "Where's the fourth member of your group?"

"In the prefect's carriage," Peter answered.

Lily gasped. "Oh, you've made me late! The Head Boy's probably waiting to get started and here I am, talking to you three."

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" Sirius questioned.

Lily took off down the train and dashed into the prefect carriage. At least twenty faces looked up at her as she entered, slightly out of breath. "So sorry I'm late," she told the group, heading to an empty seat where everyone could see her. "I got held up by—"

At that exact moment, James entered the compartment.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" Severus Snape sneered from next to Rhea Morden, the female seventh year Slytherin prefect.

"Lovely to see you again, Snape," replied James, closing the glass doors behind him and heading over to Lily, plopping down next to her and crossing his legs.

Lily gave him a weird look. "What are you doing?"

He reached into his pocket on his jeans and took out a shiny badge, glittering in the sunlight that streamed through the window, the letters HB written across.

Lily's emerald eyes widened as she heard gasps from the prefects. "_What?"_

He shrugged and put the badge back in his pocket. "Quite a shock for me, too, when I received the letter. Mum was_ thrilled_, obviously, having her and Dad being Heads. Don't quite know why I got picked, though. Dumbledore must think I'm role model material."

Lily gave a short, little laugh. "_You_? Role model material?"

He cocked his head as if saying, "Yep."

Lily shifted in her seat and turned toward Remus Lupin, one of the Marauders who Lily happened to get along with. "Is he joking? Is this a prank?"

Remus seemed to be stifling a laugh at all the surprised expressions surrounding him. "Unfortunately not," he said.

James leaned forward and yelled, "Hey!"

"You can't be Head Boy," said Rhea. "You're a disgrace to this school."

James glanced in her direction. "Says the girl whose family supports Vol—"

"Potter!" Lily exclaimed as the prefects gasped yet again.

He rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat. "Come on, boys and girls. It's just a name. I would think you, Evans, would agree with that."

She glanced around the carriage, most of the students waiting for an answer. She turned to James and said quietly, "I _do_ agree with you—"

"That's a first," Remus muttered playfully.

"—but not a lot of others don't, so it's better not to say the name for their sakes."

James raised his eyebrows. "You're serious?"

"No, he's with Peter."

James did not get her joke at first. Once he did, he gave her a half-grin. Lily had to turn away, forcing herself to keep a natural expression.

"Can we get on with the meeting?" A sixth year Ravenclaw asked.

Lily faced the prefects and said, "Right! Okay. Well, I guess Potter here isn't joking—"

"Unfortunately," Severus muttered.

"—so . . . we're your Head Girl and Boy. God knows _nothing_ will get done this year."

"Hey!" James exclaimed yet again.

Lily explained to the new fifth years what being a prefect meant by saying it was a very responsible job and should not be taken advantage of. She then informed everyone what would be in store for the year, explaining how they all would need to help decorate for special occasions, help any student who was in need, assist teachers in whatever they needed, and patrol the corridors. She also said how detentions were only to be given if it were necessary. Lastly, she reminded everyone that they could only take points from their own House. She told the prefects to patrol the train every so often and if they needed help, to go to the sixth and seventh year prefects.

James had said nothing as she explained, but had watched her intently. It made Lily uncomfortable at some times, but she did not want to say anything as everyone was looking at her.

Once everyone had left, Remus being the last to leave, she said, "Potter?"

"Hm?"

"I don't know why Dumbledore chose you, since you weren't even a prefect, but what I do know is that I take this position very seriously. You will _not _mess this up for me, understand?"

James did a mock salute as Lily rolled her eyes.

"Come on, love, lighten up!"

She did not even comment on the "love" part. Over the years he always found something new to call her. The previous year it had been Red, the year before Flower.

"Look," he then said, a little more serious. "I don't want to be Head Boy as much as you want me being Head Boy. I'm not too happy about it, either. But maybe this will be good for us."

She narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I mean maybe we can put all this bickering between us aside. I mean, come on. We're adults now. There's more important things going on in the world and fighting over who broke your quill isn't worth it."

Lily knew exactly what he was talking about. Last year, she found her favorite quill snapped into pieces, strips of feather everywhere. It had been mendable, but that did not mean she wasn't angry. She blamed James, of course, him having been closest to the scene of the crime. He claimed he had not done it, but Lily knew it had been him. He knew she loved that quill. It wrote flawlessly. This year, Lily had brought a ton of pens with her, not wanting to ruin any more quills. They could be surprisingly expensive.

She was surprised at his sudden maturity, asking to put the bickering aside. He always seemed to enjoy it when she got angry.

"What, don't believe me?" He suddenly said, noticing her expression.

"Excuse me if I don't," she said. "You _love _arguing with me."

He shrugged. "It gets old after a while, even with you."

She stared at him, unconvinced. After a few silent seconds she said, "All right. Fine. So . . . what are we? Friends?"

James snorted. "More like acquaintances the most, if we can even handle that. We're going to be spending a _lot _of time together, seeing as we share a common room and most likely live right across from each other."

Lily inwardly groaned. She had forgotten. The Head Girl and Boy have their own quarters. It was one of the perks supposedly.

"I thought we were sort of acquaintances?" James asked as Lily groaned.

"You said that, not me," she told him. "God, I'm going to have to spend more time with you than usual! And even that's a pain!"

"Wow, tell me how you really feel."

Lily sighed apologetically, but James was smiling.

Damn, that smile.

"Okay, fine," she said. "We can try to get along this year. I don't know how long it's going to last, but like you said, there are more important things than you and me."

"Well, maybe more important than _you_," he said, "but nothing's more important than me."

Lily rolled her eyes yet again and left the prefect carriage, heading back to Marlene and Skye. When she entered the compartment, she saw that Cassia Robins had joined them, another one of her old roommates.

As Lily sat down next to Marlene, Cleo jumped onto her lap and rubbed her head against Lily's hand. It was her way of asking to be stroked. Lily ran her hand down Cleo's soft back as Marlene asked, "Who's Head Boy? Is it Remus?"

Lily hesitated. "Um, no. It's—God, I don't even know how—it's James Potter."

The three girls's mouths dropped to the floor. "_What_?"

"I know, I know," Lily told them, setting Cleo on the floor, her hand getting tired. "Believe me, I was quite surprised as well."

"But he can't _possibly _be Head Boy," Skye said. "I mean, come on. He's the school's worst troublemaker. Head Boy is so beyond him."

"Mm, I think Sirius is above him," said Marlene.

"They're both bad," added Cassia.

Lily stared out the window. She wondered what time it was. They were still passing cities and towns every so often, so the must have not gotten very far. "Where are we?" Lily asked.

"Oh, no, don't you try to change the subject," Skye told her.

"What? I'm not!"

Skye gave her a look and Lily sighed. "Fine, fine. What is it you guys want to know?"

Both Marlene and Cassia opened their mouths, but Skye beat them to it. "Has James gotten any more fit since last year?"

Lily made a face as Cassia giggled and Marlene pretended to vomit.

"Oh, come on! You _know _he's good-looking."

Lily shook her head.

"Lily," Skye continued, "you can say you hate him but we all know deep down you just want to ruffle his messy hair."

Lily let out a noise as if she were disgusted. "Please. I want to do no such thing. And besides, you think Sirius is better looking. You've told us that on multiple occasions."

Skye shrugged. "Yeah, I do. He's got that bad boy vibe which is totally hot, but unfortunately that also means he has no interest in being with a girl whatsoever. I mean, from what I know, he's been with a few, but not many. Usually you'll find those types snogging some slag in a broom cupboard, but he doesn't even do that! He's super picky, I guess. James will have to do, because he is the complete opposite of his best friend. Although quite recently, and I mean only second term of last year, he wasn't with _anyone_. Usually everyone knows when he's been with someone, cause the girl always brags about it, but I didn't hear _anything _last year from winter to summer. What do you think's going on with him?"

"Maybe he's finally maturing," Cassia answered with a laugh.

Lily pursed her lips thoughtfully. That was really unlike James, to not be with someone. Usually he was. Lily assumed it was for attention, since he was so arrogant. Had he realized that he was being immature and silly? She thought back to their latest conversation.

"Guys," she said. "After all the prefects had left, Potter asked to put all the arguing between us aside and become . . . I don't know . . . acquaintances?"

The girls raised their eyebrows.

"We are talking about the same James, right?" Marlene said.

Lily nodded. "Yeah. It was weird. He seemed really sincere, though."

"What did he say?" Skye pressed on.

Lily bit her lip. "Well, he said that there were more important things than fighting over a broken quill."

"What?" Skye questioned.

Lily shook her head. "Nothing. Just a silly fight we had last year."

The subject eventually changed and soon Marlene was explaining in full detail her summer trip to France. Her aunt lived twenty minutes from Paris by car (Marlene had to explain to both Skye and Cassia what cars were, Skye being pure-blood and Cassia being half), so they stayed with her and went into the city nearly every day.

Lunch came and went, and the lot of them buying a few things from the witch who passed around the food trolley.

Cities turned to villages, which turned to farms, which turned to mountains. Sunlight no longer streamed through the window, the sky a mix of orange and pink, hidden behind scattered rain clouds.

Lily left her friends to head back to the prefects carriage once they were five minutes from Hogsmeade station, already in her school robes. A few were already there, Lily having had told them to come earlier that day. Eventually they all had arrived, and it was not surprising when James entered reluctantly, Remus having had obviously dragged him along.

The Hogwarts Express slowed to a stop, and the train's corridors soon filled with students all bustling to breathe in fresh air and escape the claustrophobic compartments.

"Fifth years," Lily said to the new comers, "you need to lead the first years of your House to your common room after the feast has ended. Sixth and seventh years, you shall make sure everyone travels to Hogwarts safely. Potter and I will stay here and make sure that the train empties and nothing and no one gets left behind."

The prefects filed out, and soon it was Lily and James alone, once again.

"This is becoming a habit." James smiled at her.

"It will," she answered professionally. "We are partners, after all."

"Are we?" he asked. "I didn't think we were that close. You're moving too fast, love."

She made sure her badge was straight and noticed that James wasn't wearing his. "You need to put it on."

He looked at her weirdly before saying, "What? My badge? No way. You think I want people to see me wearing that thing? People will think I'm going soft."

"You didn't choose to become Head Boy."

"That doesn't matter. My reputation will be ruined."

Lily was not sure if he was joking or being serious. "Remus is a prefect and he's still popular."

"Only by association."

"Ooh, don't tell him you said that."

"I won't."

"Perhaps I will."

"Evans, how dare you. I thought we were acquaintances."

"Well, you said _I _thought we were partners."

"More reason for you not to tell him."

He was grinning at her, and she weirdly felt her cheeks flush. Were they actually joking with each other? Were they actually getting along?

"We'd better make sure everyone's gotten off," she said, changing the subject. "I'll check the inside, you go outside."

His smile faded a little. "All right."

There was a second and fourth year—siblings—who were still on the train, fighting on who had left one of their possessions at home. Lily persuaded them to get off the train and write to their parents when they got to the school.

Once she was sure the train had been emptied, she hopped off the Express. James was nowhere in sight, so she headed to the last remaining carriage being pulled by a black, skeletal Thestral. She had started seeing them only two years ago, when her father had died. At first, she thought she was going crazy, since no one else could see them, but she looked them up in the library, and it made sense as to why she could. They could only be seen by those who have seen death.

She maneuvered past the creature and opened the carriage. James was sitting in it, looking bored. When Lily entered, his face lit up. "Been wondering when you'd finish."

Lily squinted at him. "Have you been sitting here the whole time?"

"Not the _whole _time," he said.

The carriage started to move, and soon enough, they were getting off and entering the large front doors of Hogwarts. They arrived just in time, the Sorting Hat that placed each first year respectively into their Houses having just started its song (it sang a new one each year).

James sat down in his usual seat next to Sirius, across from Remus and Peter. Lily made her way further up the Gryffindor table and plopped herself down next to Marlene who had saved her a seat.

The sorting finished and the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, said hardly anything, and then the golden plates and goblets filled with food and drinks. The Great Hall was filled with the sound of students eating and talking. Lily helped herself to some chicken and potatoes, then a piece of chocolate cake. One could never go wrong with chocolate.

During the end of dessert, the Hall silenced as Professor Dumbledore stood up. "Welcome, everyone, all those who are new and all those who are returning. Firstly, I am quite surprised that nothing has exploded or appeared." He gave the Marauders an amusing look. "Perhaps the start of term pranks have ceased."

At that exact moment, there were screams and shouts from the Slytherin table. Lily could not see properly, but it seemed as if the food had turned to insects.

Professor McGonagall was the first up, being the Transfiguration teacher. The cakes and pies were soon back to normal, but no one was touching them.

Everyone looked back at Dumbledore, whose blue eyes were sparkling behind half-moon spectacles. "Secondly," he continued as if nothing had happened, "I want to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Romulus Bellwood."

There were not many claps, seeing as no one knew who he was.

"I would also like to inform the first years and a few older students that the Dark Forest is strictly forbidden. Mr. Pringle, our caretaker, has told me to remind all of you that magic is not allowed in the corridors between classes, as well as many other rules that can be read from a list in his office if any of you are curious enough to do so.

"I wish good luck to all of you taking your O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s this year. Must you do the most absolute best you can do.

"I would also like to say that many of you know that Lord Voldemort and his followers and growing in numbers and gaining strength."

There were gasps at Voldemort's name, then silence, as everyone listened to what Dumbledore had to say.

"I cannot stress enough how dangerous the current situation is, but I would like to inform all of you with doubts that Hogwarts is protected in powerful ways. While at this school, there is no need to fear, for we are as strong united as weak as we are divided.

"Now, your beds are awaiting your arrival for a good night's sleep before your lessons tomorrow. To bed, all of you!"

Everyone stood up, full and tired, ready to go to their dormitories and crash.

Lily said goodbye and headed to the Head quarters. She spoke the password to the painting, it having been in her letter when she received the title of Head Girl. The common room was similar to Gryffindor Tower, but much smaller, not being meant for more than two hundred people but only two. Her room was to the right, like the girls' dormitories in Gryffindor. Her things had already been brought up. Instead of five, four-poster twin beds, there was a large queen with lavender sheets and an assortment of pillows. Lily was most happy about finally having her own bathroom.

She took a quick shower and changed into her pajamas, sinking into her mattress with her dark red hair still wet. She fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

The next morning, Lily awoke to a gray sky, the complete opposite of the day before. She clipped back the top half of her thick, wavy hair and made sure her badge was pinned in the correct spot. Grabbing her bag with her books, she left her room and stared around the common room. The previous night she had not really been paying attention. Now, she noticed that there was a long, oak table near one of the walls, obviously made to have homework done on it. There was a medium sized fireplace with a couch and two armchairs, as well as a long, towering bookshelf pressed against one wall. It was cozy, but Lily could not imagine her and James sitting on the couch, comfortable in each other's presence. Lily decided she would be spending most of her time in her room while she was there.

A few students were already in the Great Hall, eating eggs and bacon and toast and scones. Lily sat down in her usual spot, none of her friends there yet. She helped herself to a blueberry scone. A few minutes later, Marlene sat down next to her, grabbing a goblet and pouring cold, fresh pumpkin juice into it. "Good morning," she said to Lily.

"Morning," Lily replied.

"It's so not the same without you in our room," Marlene said, sipping her juice. "You know I love Skye and Cassia and Anne, but it's so weird without you. We did have beds right next to each other for six years after all."

Lily pulled off a bit of her scone and popped it into her mouth. "I know. I slept great last night, probably because I was tired, but I probably won't get used to sleeping alone for a while. I'm used to Anne keeping her light on until midnight, and Skye and Cassia gossiping away. But I do have to say I'm enjoying not having to wait for one of you to get out of the bathroom."

Marlene moaned. "Oh, would you mind if I came to shower at your place?"

Lily chuckled. "As if. You're just going to have to suffer."

Eventually, all of Lily's old roommates came to breakfast, as well as the rest of Hogwarts.

Suddenly, owls swooped into the Great Hall, delivering letters and parcels to the students. Lily received nothing—she did not expect to. She just saw her mother the day before. Marlene, Skye, Cassia, and Anne received nothing as well. Once the owls had all disappeared, Professor McGonagall came down the table handing out everyone's schedules for the year. Lily read over hers, shrugging at double Charms and Advanced Transfiguration that morning and double Potions after lunch. Her schedule was all right. Double classes were expected, being the last year at Hogwarts. She had a free period Tuesday morning and Friday afternoon, which was always a good thing.

"Ooh, Lily, we have all the same classes!" Marlene showed Lily her schedule and she was right—they did.

"Let me see yours," Skye said, reaching across the table and snatching the slip of paper in Lily's hand. She scanned it over and said, "No fair you get a free period on Friday, and at the end of the day, too."

Lily took back her schedule. "It really isn't an entire period. Since I have no double classes that day, it's only technically half an hour if you compare it with the rest of the week."

Skye gave her a look as if she did not fully understand.

Sirius Black approached the five girls, bending over the table and grabbing Lily's schedule. "Hey!" she exclaimed, trying to reach for it back, but he was too quick.

"Ah, you have the same classes as us four!" he informed her, handing back the piece of paper.

She stashed the paper in her pocket, not wanting anyone else to pluck it out of her grip.

"Why the nasty expression?" he asked, stealing a piece of bacon from Anne's plate, who was too shy to say anything.

"Because I have another year of all my classes with you and your friends," Lily told him.

He rolled his eyes with a smirk. "Come on, we're not _that _bad."

She raised her eyebrows with a hint of a smile.

"Okay, we are," he admitted, shrugging casually. "But you should be used to us by now."

"Yes, I'm used to you laughing your head off as I struggle to get out from underneathe Potter."

There were four gasps. "_What?"_ Skye said, beating the rest of the girls.

Before Lily could respond and say how it was hardly anything, Sirius answered, "Yes, innocent Lily Evans here was found yesterday on the train laying underneath James moaning quite loudly."

"Sirius!" Lily yelled, throwing the rest of her scone at him, but he ducked just in time.

He popped back up with a laugh and said, "Don't you deny you enjoyed it!"

Before she could yell at him some more, he already had started walking away.

She faced her friends and they all were staring at her with wide eyes.

"Well?" Cassia asked.

Lily dived into the short story of how the train had lurched causing James to topple on top of Lily. She shrugged it off, but Skye said that was a great snogging opportunity. Lily proceeded to throw another piece of food at her, which—unlike Sirius—hit her straight in the face.

Breakfast soon was over, and everyone traveled to the first class of the day. Professor Filtwick, the Charms teacher, started off the class by saying how at the end of the year, they would be taking their N.E.W.T. exams (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test), and that it was important to do the best they could throughout the year so they could earn a Charms N.E.W.T. He then proceeded to go over things they learned during their previous school years, and gave them homework that was about the importance of non-verbal spells.

Professor McGonagall went into detail about N.E.W.T.s as well, saying that their entire education lead up to those final exams. The class was spent on starting Conjuring Spells—which they had briefly started the year before. The homework was to read up on the Spells, for they would be speaking about it again next time they had Transfiguration.

Lunch was delicious, as always, and soon Lily was off to Potions. Professor Slughorn was delighted to see Lily again, she being one of his favorite students, and before class started, asked about her still being in his Slug Club.

"Of course, Professor," she answered politely with a smile. "I wouldn't miss it."

Truth was, she dreaded his Slug Club. Professor Slughorn would round up students who he thought had potential to be great wizards or witches, either because they had influential relatives or they themselves possessed fame or talent of some kind. Slughorn asked Lily and Severus to go to one of his get-togethers in their fifth year. The entire two hours, he was asking them all about family members or achievements they had. When it had been Lily's turn, he was astounded that she was Muggle-born. She, at first, thought that he would kick her out, but he did the complete opposite. He marveled at her talent in Potions, thinking she was even more wonderful _because _of her blood status. All of the Slytherins in the Club sneered at her, but she soon learnt to ignore them. She had Severus. But then in sixth year, the parties and meetings became quite uncomfortable, seeing as Lily and Severus were no longer friends. Lily skipped a few, giving Slughorn excuses, but she always went to a couple, not wanting to hurt Slughorn's feelings. He had always been extremely kind to her.

Now, Professor Slughorn beamed at her before starting the class, glad that she was still in his Slug Club. He talked about N.E.W.T.s, and Lily was already getting tired of the subject. The class worked on the Euphoria Potion, which Lily successfully completed. As Slughorn walked around, he gave her thumbs up as he passed her cauldron. He gave the class homework as well. They needed to write a page of parchment on the Elixir to Euphoria.

At almost three in the afternoon, Potions ended, and the school day was done. Lily trudged to the Head's quarters, dropping her bag on the floor and falling on top of the sofa. She lay there, too lazy to move. She only stood when James Potter came laughing through the portrait hole, his three friends bustling in behind him.

"Ah, Evans," Sirius greeted her. "What a pleasure."

She stuck her tongue out at him while he smiled.

Sirius, Remus, and Peter all gaped at the room, taking in the surroundings. Remus went over to the bookshelf that aliened one of the walls, tilting his head to read the titles. Sirius strolled over to the couch and fell on it, crossing his ankles and putting his hands behind his head. "Ah, so much more quieter than Gryffindor Tower."

Lily's eyes bulged as she said, "Oh, no." She grabbed the pillow from under Sirius's head and threw it on to the armchair. "You lot will _not _be spending all of your free time here. You have Gryffindor Tower for that, or you can find somewhere else to terrorize. This is _my _common room for peaceful relaxation or for doing homework. I will _not _have you lot ruin this wonderful perk of mine. No offense, Remus," she hastily added.

He shrugged. "None taken. If I were you I'd say the same."

The other three shot him looks.

"Traitor," Sirius muttered.

"Love, if you say that, that must mean you're not allowed to invite your friends over as well," James told her.

Lily opened her mouth to argue but shut it.

"Mm, exactly," he said. "This is _my _common room as well. It's _ours, _as much as you like it or not. Therefore, I can bring my friends here and you can bring yours. It's simple."

Lily sighed with defeat.

"Fine," she gritted through her teeth. "But I don't want you staying up all hours of the night being rambunctious and causing noise. I also don't want any parties in here. It's way too small for that."

"So if we were to enlarge it with an enchantment—" Sirius started.

"_No_," said Lily firmly.

Sirius pouted and gave her large, puppy-dog eyes, his gray orbs sparkling.

Lily crossed her arms and raised a single eyebrow.

Sirius realized she would not budge and stopped his begging. "Oh, fine. Have it your way."

Lily gave a single nod and went to her room, shutting the door behind her. She suddenly thought about being Head Girl, and realized she needed to talk to James. She waited for his friends to leave, and once they did, she left her room to find James lounging on an armchair, puffs of colorful smoke escaping the end of his wand. She also saw he had another badge pinned to his chest, except the bolded letters read QC. They could only stand for one thing.

"I didn't notice you wearing that one yesterday on the train," Lily told him, motioning towards the badge.

James looked up at her quickly, not realizing she was there, then down at the badge. "I didn't want to brag."

Her eyes went wide. "_You_, _James Potter_, not wanting to brag about being _Quidditch Captain_?"

He nodded. "I'd already been appointed Head Boy. No need to advertise I'd also gotten Captain."

Lily's surprised expression soon turned casual. "Whatever you say, Potter. I'm sure once Gryffindor plays its first match, you'll be flying around the stadium personally showing everyone your badge."

"Why would I do that?" he asked as if he were actually confused that he'd brag.

Lily did a double take. "Who are you and what have you done with James Potter?"

He gave her a confused look. "You're acting strange, Evans."

Her jaw dropped. "_Me_? I don't—what . . . ?"

He loosened his tie and headed for his room. "I'll see you at dinner, yeah?"

She remained speechless for a few seconds and then remembered why she wanted to talk to him in the first place. "Wait, Potter!"

He stopped in his doorway and turned to face her.

"We need to talk about Head . . . stuff."

He raised his eyebrows. "Head stuff?"

"Yes."

He stared at her silently and then, "Okay. How about Wednesday?" He started to enter his room again when Lily took a few steps forward and called his name again.

"What?" he asked.

"I mean now!" she told him.

"It's the first day back."

"Exactly. We need to read all of the files on the prefects and post patrol schedules and read up on future events. We also need to start planning for Halloween. We'll need to talk to Hagrid and inform him to start growing pumpkins because God knows those big ones take forever to grown and—"

"Evans?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you please shut up?"

Lily gave James a look.

"I'm being serious, Potter. There's a lot we need to do. Being Head Girl and Boy is a lot of responsibility."

James gave a dramatic sigh. "Fine. Fine. We'll start tonight after dinner—_don't_ look at me like that. We have homework. If we spend time now doing Head stuff, then where are we going to fit in the essays we've got to write and the passages we've got to read? I'm pretty sure Sprout will give us homework and even though that Bellwood bloke Is new, I would not be surprised if he gave us homework as well. I don't want to spend my entire day tomorrow doing it, so I'm going to do some right now. Also, I have detention tonight at eight because of the little stunt my friends and I pulled last night at dinner. So can we fit it in between seven and eight? Is that okay?"

Lily stared at him, speechless.

He noticed, and asked, "What? Are you not okay with that?"

Lily did something between a shake and a nod. "No—I mean yeah, I'm fine with that. It's just—you never want to admit that you have homework to do. You act like it's hardly important. Now suddenly you're saying you'd rather get some of it done now so you're not loaded with it tomorrow?"

He shrugged. "Guess I've changed," he told her shutting his bedroom door.

Lily stared curiously at where he'd stood. First, he said he wanted to try and be friends—acquaintances—the night before and put the bickering aside. Then, he said he did not want to boast about becoming Quidditch Captain. Now, he said he wanted to start on his homework? What was he doing? Was he joking, performing a prank? That must of been it. He must have been pranking her. But that is what she thought the year before when he had started to act different, and it turned out not to be true. Was this real? Was James Potter—dare she think it—changing?

Lily took a deep breath and headed into her room, thinking that she might as well start her homework, too. Dinner came along, and everyone was chatting about how his or her day had been. Soon enough, Lily was back in the Head quarters, a little later than she would have liked. Peeves, the school's poltergeist, was dropping dungbombs on the students, causing all who were hit or near the bomb to smell like a putrid odor. None of the teachers had been around, so Lily was yelling at Peeves to stop. He would not listen, so she threated to get the Bloody Baron, a Slytherin ghost who was the only one who could control the poltergeist. Peeves reluctantly stopped the bomb throwing, and flew away, muttering about Heads and how they thought they were so important.

James was already in the dormitory, waiting. Once Lily arrived, he stood up and headed towards the exit.

"Where are you—?" Lily started, but James cut her off and said,  
"Some second year said that Dumbledore wanted to see us."

Lily, curious, followed James out of the portrait hole. They walked across the castle and soon found themselves in front of a gigantic gargoyle. James spoke the password, which Lily assumed he got from the second year, and the stone structure stepped aside, revealing a spiral staircase. Lily and James hopped on as it moved upwards, and they stepped off at the top. James knocked on the oak door, and a voice from the other side said, "Come in." James opened the door and they entered.

Professor Dumbledore sat at his desk, his silvery beard reaching his lap, his blue eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles. "Ah, Mr. Potter, Miss Evans. Please, take a seat." With a wave of his wand, he conjured two armchairs in front of his desk.

Lily sat down in the chair to her right, James sitting to her left. Dumbledore continued to smile at them, and for Lily, it became a little awkward.

"Sir," James started. "I don't mean to sound rude, but why exactly have you called us here?"

Dumbledore stroked his phoenix, Fawkes, who was perched next to his desk. "I've called you both here because you two are Head Boy and Girl, and as Headmaster, I feel obliged to wish you the best of luck. But that is not all. I'm sure you are both wondering why I have picked the two of you."

"Well, not Evans," James said immediately. "It's obvious as to why she was chosen. But me, yeah."

Lily turned her head to glance at James, but he was already looking. She turned away.

"I have chosen you, Miss Evans," Dumbledore spoke, "because over the years, you have shown excellent leadership skills, kindness, and bravery. Also, you have done a fine job at being a prefect and I was positive that you would have enjoyed becoming Head Girl. You deserve it.

"I chose you, Mr. Potter, because even though you have served quite a lot of detentions and have gotten in trouble with the other teachers, I have noticed a great improvement. You show leadership skills, kindness, and bravery as well. Some might think those descriptions do not apply to you, but I fully believe they do.

"Also, I know that the both of you aren't very fond of each other, but in times like these, especially when you have to work with one another, I think the two of you can grow to enjoy each other's company. Both of you have matured greatly over the years—and are doing so now," –he looked at James—"and I think that you two make fine partners.

"Now, I also want to say that since you two share a dormitory, one that is extremely private, I am trusting the both of you to not do anything that you would not do in front of a teacher. Do you understand what I am implying?"

They quickly nodded, red creeping onto Lily's cheeks.

"Fantastic." Dumbledore smiled. "Now, I assume that you were about to have a meeting together, seeing as how quickly you came to my office?"

Lily and James nodded.

"Then go do it! Good luck to you both." He shooed them away with his hands and they left his office, weird expressions on their faces.

"Did he seriously tell us not to have sex in our rooms?" James asked her once they had climbed down the stairs and were walking down the corridors.

"I think so," answered Lily slowly. "But we all know that was meant for you more than it was for me."

"Hey, I am _not _like that," James said defensively.

They made their way back to their quarters and started on "Head stuff." Lily found the files for the prefects on the bookshelf and the two of them read them, laughing at some bizarre secrets and feeling sorry for those who had terrible home lives. They moved on to creating patrol schedules, which James complained about, but luckily for him, it was time for his detention. Lily did all of the work for patrolling. James said before he left that he would go see Hagrid the next day and tell him to start growing pumpkins for Halloween. Lily was quite surprised that he was actually working. Maybe he was changing. Dumbledore did say that even he noticed an improvement. Lily would have to see. Things like that took time.

* * *

The next day was much like the day before. Lily did, however, have a free period from nine until ten, but she ended up spending it reading about Conjuring Spells for Professor McGonagall.

She then had double Herbology in greenhouse seven. Professor Sprout mentioned their N.E.W.T.s, but did not spend much time discussing the matter. She got right into the class. The students were dealing with Fanged Geranium. They had to extract the razor sharp teeth from the flower since they were good for potions. Lily's plant kept trying to bite her fingers off.

The class Lily was most curious about was Defense Against the Dark Arts, which she had double after lunch. Every year at Hogwarts, Lily had had a different Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Not one could keep his or her job for more than one school year. One left due to sickness. Another found out that teaching wasn't "her thing." Some students said the job was cursed, but no one really knew why no teacher could keep his or her job. Lily hoped that Professor Bellwood was decent.

Upon entering, Lily noticed that the classroom looked perfectly normal. Over the years, some teachers put up paintings or photographs or diagrams. One teacher had removed all the desks and replaced them with beanbags. Everyone had to do their written work in their lap. Another teacher kept a cage full of Flitterbys (moths with glowing orange wings that hummed and laughed), which always happened to be extremely loud whenever the students were taking a test.

However, the walls were plain. The desks were in neat rows. The blackboard at the front of the room was empty. There were no creatures of any kind. Professor Bellwood stood at the front of the room wearing deep blue robes, bringing out the blue in his eyes. He was young, at least fifteen years younger than Professor McGonagall.

"Sit wherever you'd like," he told the students, who immediately rushed to sit by their friends.

Lily sat next to Marlene, who kept glancing around the room as if waiting for something wrong to happen.

After everyone had taken their seats, Professor Bellwood stared at everyone. After a couple of awkward seconds, he said in a deep, mature voice, "Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts. As you all know, I'm your new teacher, Professor Bellwood. I see that all of you have had a different teacher each year, as did I when I attended this school. I hope that I exceed your expectations as your teacher and educate you to the best of my ability."

Lily glanced around the classroom and noticed that many of the girls were gazing at Bellwood with a longing expression. Bellwood was all right, Lily thought, but wasn't amazing. And besides, he was their new teacher!

"I know that every other teacher likes to start their first class with work, but I am against that completely. I, for one, know none of you. So, we will go down the rows and each of you will come up to the front of class and state your name and a few of your favorite things. We'll keep it simple."

He motioned for the first student, a Ravenclaw, to go first. He stood up and walked to front, his back facing the blackboard. "Um, I'm Ryan Bexley. I enjoy collecting Chocolate Frog cards and the band the Hobgoblins."

Bellwood nodded as if approving and waited for the next student to go.

Even though Lily sat close to the front, it took a while for it to be her turn. The class was perhaps the largest she had ever been in. It was filled with seventh years from all four Houses. Lily assumed that there were not many periods for seventh year Defense Against the Dark Arts, so a lot of them had to be jammed into a very few classes.

Lily walked up to the front on her turn and faced the class. There were at least thirty people, all staring up at her. She tried to avoid the Marauders, knowing that if she were to be looking at any one of them, she'd get cold feet.

"I'm Lily Evans," she told everyone. "I like . . . " She suddenly forgot everything she had ever liked in her entire life. " . . . I like novels and the fact that I'm Muggle-born."

The Slytherins scowled, but she did not care. She caught a few smiles from fellow Muggle-borns, as well as a genuine one from James, which weirdly made her cheeks flush.

Marlene went next, saying that she enjoyed playing and watching Quidditch and traveling. Skye, Cassia, and Anne went as well, and then it was the Marauders' turns.

"I'm Peter Pettigrew. I like walking along the grounds and spending time with my friends."

Sirius pointed at him and winked as he sat down.

"I'm Remus Lupin, and I enjoy Honeydukes's chocolate and those rare moments when people actually _respect my wishes_." He shot his friends a playful look, which they returned.

Sirius went up to the front and said, "I'm Sirius Black, and I like Muggle motorcycles, Quidditch _and . . . _the band the Fire Charms, which I doubt any of you know, since none of you have very good music taste."

As he sat back down, Remus seemed to be relieved.

James approached the front of the room. "I'm James Potter. I like Quidditch, as well, and . . . "

Lily swore that he had looked at her, but he was looking at everyone. It was nothing.

" . . . dogs, wolves, rats, and stags, especially when they are all together in one place."

The class gave him weird looks as he made his way back to his seat, not understanding his interest for those particular animals. His friends seemed to have understood. Sirius pretended to look touched, whereas Remus jokingly rolled his eyes and Peter smiled.

Seven more students went, and then Professor Bellwood stood from where he was perched.

"My turn," he spoke to everyone. "I am Romulus Bellwood, A.K.A. Professor Bellwood. I enjoy sugar quills from Honeyduke's and can spot them out quite easily," –he scanned the room, looking to see if anyone was sucking on the sweet candy— "I also like films, but I'm sure most of you don't know what that means. If you wish to find out, I suggest you ask the Muggle studies teacher."

"So you're Muggle-born?"

All heads turned to Evan Rosier, who sat next to Severus Snape. He was a thin boy, with dirty blonde hair that was cut short. Everyone knew that as soon as he left school, he was going to become a Death Eater.

Many Slytherins who had already left Hogwarts had become Death Eaters. People like Rodolphus Lestrange, Bellatrix Black, Lucius Malfoy, and many more had chosen to become followers of the elusive Lord Voldemort, whose mission was to have a pure-blood wizard race and be rid of all Muggles, Muggle-borns, many half-bloods, and blood traitors.

Rosier's voice was full of disgust as he spoke to Bellwood, but the Professor did not seem to care.

"I am a half-blood, Mr. Rosier, but it should not matter," Professor Bellwood told him calmly. "And as for the rest of you, I do not want to see or hear any discrimination based on blood status. I don't wish that in my classroom. Take your battles elsewhere, although, it is quite silly to be having them at all. If any of you disobey these rules you will be punished. Is that understood?"

He did not sound angry or threatening, but maybe that's why everyone in the class nodded their heads and mumbled, "Yes, Sir."

After class was over, Lily walked to Gryffindor Tower with Marlene at her side, conversing about Bellwood. Everyone seemed to be talking about the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. The Slytherins hated him already, but everyone else took a liking towards him.

"Isn't he handsome?" Marlene asked dreamily.

"Oh, not you too!" Lily said, exasperated. "I swear, everywhere I looked all the girls seemed to be goggling at him, even the Slytherins."

"Yes, but that quickly changed after he spoke his mind on blood status."

"I know." A pause. "You know, I think what he said was very brave, though. Most teachers don't say what their blood status is, and a lot of them stay clear of the topic all together."

"Yes," said Marlene, "because if they were to go in detail everyone would explode. Us Gryffindors can't keep our mouths shuts, the Slytherins would whip out their wands and start saying how You-Know-Who is going to win, the Hufflepuffs would end up siding with us and probably get injured, because they're too kind to duel, and then the Ravenclaws would just start yelling their opinions. Then the teachers would put everyone in detention and split everyone up and it was be an absolute disaster."

Marlene saw that Lily was staring at her.

"What?" she asked.

"You've put a lot of thought into that," Lily told her.

Marlene shrugged.

"Bellwood is handsome, though," she repeated.

"Ugh, you guys think so too?"

Lily and Marlene found themselves surrounded by the Marauders. Sirius and Peter were to Marlene's right, James and Remus to Lily's left. They took up nearly the entire corridor. Remus and Peter realized this, and made their way to the back, trailing behind their friends.

"I don't," Lily explained, "but Marlene surely thinks so."

"Well, he is!"

James and Sirius made faces.

"He must be gay," said James.

"Why would you say that?" asked Lily.

"Because he's too . . . "

"Perfect?" Marlene said with a sigh.

"Exactly. No bloke is that—ugh, I hate to admit it—_good-looking—"_

"Aw, James, you think he's good-looking?" Sirius teased.

"—and talks about blood status like that. He's just a pretty boy, that's all he is."

"James, he's only a couple years older than us by the look of it," Marlene said to him. "He's not a _pretty boy._"

James went to respond but Lily beat him to it.

"How come whenever a guy is handsome and smart and decent, all other guys think he's only interested in men?"

"It's because they're jealous," Marlene said.

All fours boys exclaimed in unison, "We're not jealous!"

"And then they always deny it," Lily added.

The fours boys started defending themselves, saying how that was not true. They all had not realized that they made it to the portrait outside the common room.

"Snarfalump," Marlene told the Fat Lady in the painting, who graciously opened up, allowing the six of them to enter.

"Marlene, wanna get the rest of your things and come to my place?" Lily asked her, ignoring the Marauders.

"Sure. Be right back."

As she ran up the girls' staircase, James said, "Hold on, Sirius and Remus and Peter are all coming to our place."

Lily squinted her eyes. "Then why are you here?"

The four glanced around at their surroundings. It was obvious they had not been paying attention to where they were going.

"Oh, damn, we did it again," Sirius muttered.

_Again?_

"How daft are you?" Lily joked.

They started heading to the door but Lily said, "Hey, Remus, what did you mean but the whole respecting my wishes thing?"

He sighed and said, "Sirius was going to say that he was in love with me or something so I was trying to get him to stop."

"Oh, Moony," Sirius started, "you know I wouldn't publicly embarrass you like that. I'd make sure you were comfortable with the idea of us being together before I told the world. God, it's like you don't trust me."

Remus chuckled.

"Let's go," said Peter, heading towards the exit, the rest of his friends following.

"Marlene and I are going to be in my room so don't make too much noise!" Lily called to the group as they climbed out of the portrait hole.

"No promises!" James yelled back, shutting the painting behind him.

* * *

**A/N: **If you read the long author's note before this first chapter (which you _really _should before you start this story), then you might be confused on how I'm writing James. _Well, _this is a year and three months after Snape's Worst Memory, so I think that James has changed by now. He's not the same fifteen-year-old he was (although technically if O.W.L.s take place right before school lets out, James would have been sixteen, his birthday being in March, but that doesn't really matter).

I am writing him as a more mature, seventeen-year-old who has realized that the War is more important that silly feuds and immature actions at school. Also, I'm writing him as trying to get over Lily, so he's not all nervous and idiotic when he's around her. He's more calm and his normal self, because he isn't trying so hard to impress her anymore.

As for Sirius, again, I do think he was a humorous, sarcastic fellow (as was James), but not some hyper, _always _sarcastic and silly and dumb person. Again, he's matured as well.

Please review, telling me why you liked this first chapter and what I can do to improve it. Constructive criticism is always good! If you hated it, or don't like my writing, then simply don't read this fic. Please don't comment something nasty. That's just rude and unnecessary.

My tumblr is dark-likemysoul (haha yes), my instgram account that I'm on _most _is mazerunner. You can leave me PMs if you wish!


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